Other Features

“As the days grow colder and shorter…”

We are now well into fall, and winter will be here before you know it! Wow. What happened to summer? Well, it, like most seasons, had its time in the sun and then bowed out. There’s something to be said about the fall, though. It’s not too warm, and it’s also not too cold. We’re occasionally pulling out the jackets, and we’re wearing the long sleeves, but we’re not pulling out the hats and gloves yet. Plus during the fall, we have Halloween and Thanksgiving, both fun holidays where people end up stuffing themselves to the gills and then regret it later. Plus let’s not forget the leaves, which are definitely the highlight of the season, seen at left from fall 2002. It’s kind of like the trees’ last hurrah before hibernating for the winter. Nature definitely makes sure we know it’s there, too. When it arrives in the spring, everything blossoms up nice and pretty, as that way of saying, “We’re here!” And then once it makes a glorious entrance, it settles into a routine – green leaves. Then when it’s time to go, the leaves change colors, as the overriding green from the chlorophyll goes away, and lets the leaves’ true colors come out. And it turns out the trees are party animals, as the leaves throw a little going-away bash by providing a wonderful display of color before falling off the trees. And then winter comes, and then the whole cycle starts all over again!